Table 1. Baseline characteristics of study patients.
| Characteristics | All patients |
| N = 209 | |
| Age (years) | 58.2±13.8 |
| Male (%) | 99 (47.4) |
| Smoking (%) | 37 (17.7) |
| Diabetes (%) | 75 (35.9) |
| CAD (%) | 38 (18.2) |
| CHF (%) | 43 (20.6) |
| PAOD (%) | 26 (12.4) |
| COPD (%) | 17 (8.1) |
| Stroke (%) | 20 (9.6) |
| Cancer (%) | 18 (8.6) |
| Dialysis vintage (months) | 67.2±54.8 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.3±3.9 |
| nPCR (g/kg/day) | 1.14±0.34 |
| Cardiothoracic ratio (%) | 0.50±0.07 |
| Residual renal function (mL/min) | 0.12±0.22 |
| High flux dialysis (%) | 137 (65.6) |
| Synthetic membrane (%) | 160 (76.6%) |
| Vascular access | |
| AVF (%) | 152 (72.7%) |
| AVG (%) | 30 (14.4%) |
| Tunneled cuffed Catheter (%) | 27 (12.9%) |
| ACEI/ARB use (%) | 72 (34.4%) |
| Heparin use (%) | 160 (76.6%) |
Notes: Values are expressed as mean ± SD or total number (percent).
Abbreviations: CAD, coronary artery disease; CHF, congestive heart failure; PAOD, peripheral arterial occlusive disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; nPCR, normalized protein catabolic rate; AVF, Arterial venous fistula; AVG, Arterial venous graft; ACEI, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker.